It is well known to provide a rod and retainer clip assembly including a rod and a retainer clip which is snapped onto the end of the rod. Such retainer clips are useful, for example, in a brake pedal assembly in a vehicle. The retainer clip axially retains the rod in place and axially retains a component, such as a brake adjust switch assembly, on the rod. The retainer clip must allow the rod to operate freely without engaging any surrounding objects. Typically, the rod includes an annular groove and the retainer clip includes holes, fingers or projections whose edges engage the annular groove to retain the clip on the rod.
An example of a prior art rod and retainer clip assembly 10 including a rod 12, a retainer clip 20, and a brake adjust switch assembly 30 axially retained on the rod 12 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The rod 12 includes a rod end portion 14 and an enlarged diameter portion 16 being spaced apart axially inward from the rod end portion 14. An annular groove 18 is located between the rod end portion 14 and the enlarged diameter portion 16. The prior art retainer clip 20 is made of a single piece of resilient material and includes a first generally rectangular planar portion 22 and a second generally rectangular planar portion 24 connected by a bent U-shaped portion 26. A pair of flexible spring legs 28 extend from the U-shaped portion 26 for flexible engagement with the switch assembly 30. The second planar portion 24 includes a key-shaped hole 32 therethrough having an upper opening 34 having a width sized for closely surrounding the annular groove 18 on the rod 12. The first planar portion 22 includes a flexible tongue 36 extending therefrom and having a J-shaped hooked end 38 bent towards the second planar portion 24 such that a free tip 40 of the hooked end 38 is planar with the second planar portion 24. The retainer clip 20 is assembled to the rod 12 by axially aligning the rod 12 with the key-shaped hole 32 and pushing the retainer clip 20 axially inward onto the rod 12 such that the J-shaped hooked end 38 flexes to permit assembly of the retainer clip 20 onto the rod 12 until the free tip 40 of the hooked end 38 snaps into the annular groove 18 of the rod 12. In the assembled condition, the upper opening 34 of the key-shaped hole 32 and the free tip 40 of the hooked end 38 each have edges which engage the annular groove 18 to hold the retainer clip 20 on the rod 12.
This and other typical prior art retainer clips are designed to be held on the rod by contact of the edges of a hole or the edges of flexible projections or fingers with an annular groove on the rod. These edges do not apply any significant inward radial load on the rod. Thus, these retainer clips may rotate relative the rod and may be removed from the rod by application of an axial force on the retainer clip. In addition, the corners and square shape of the illustrated prior art retainer clip take up extra space in the instrument panel area.